


Young Lords

by Arsoemon



Series: ShuKita 100 [4]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Brothers, Edo Period, Gen, Samurai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-11-02 11:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20723513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsoemon/pseuds/Arsoemon
Summary: Akira and Yusuke are the beloved sons of a highly regarded daimyo, and their lives couldn’t be more perfect. But tragedy strikes, and that all begins to change. Even in the Early Modern Period, rebellion has a way of showing itself.





	Young Lords

**Author's Note:**

> There are very brief moments of violence but not enough to do an archive warning, I think.

Akira was born to one of the lord's concubines mere months after Yusuke, the boy who'd be groomed to be heir. Though the two boys were shaped to fit their future roles as lord and scholar, both were nobles, first and foremost, and they clearly loved each other. There was even harmony between their mothers, no jealousy or malice shared between the women. The two young lords started out in this large, happy household.

The woman who mothered Yusuke was a proper lady and a fine artist and well-loved by all who knew of her. The same could be said of Akira's mother, though what she lacked in artistic ability, she made up for in poetry. The two ladies were inseparable, quickly taking to each other as sisters.

One day, Yusuke's mother fell into one of her spells, as they were called throughout the household, but this time she began convulsing. Lord Madarame, alarmed to find his wife trembling on the ground in the garden, called on the nearby temple, believing it to be the work of devils. By the time the retainer had returned with the priest, however, the time had come to prepare for her burial. There was not a single soul who didn't weep.

In the months following the funeral, there was a subtle shift in the household. Certainly, the pain of losing a mother, a sister, a wife and dear friend still gripped each and every member; but there was something more. Some underlying force creeping in.

It started out with lord Madarame becoming more aloof. Where before he would entertain the boys and servants with his stories, he now would sooner send them back to work. The gentle explanations after a punishment slowly morphed into cold rebukes. The tender moments when he would take each of the women by the hand in turn and gently sway to some imaginary rhythm came fewer and further between before stopping altogether. Akira's once joyful mother fell into a constant state of melancholy and eventually succumbed. The boys had just barely begun showing their signs of maturing.

And like that, the household transformed into an opulent prison. The lessons grew longer and harder and with less recovery time in between. The sparring Yusuke and Akira were made to do was encouraged to be more violent than ever, and it was rare for a session to end before someone was injured. There was a stark contrast in their treatment now. A change not entirely unexpected since they were coming of age soon, but where before, both boys were treated as beloved noble sons, they were now treated as puppets, hollow instruments meant to follow orders without question.

After their lessons, Akira was made to return to his room and pore over manuscript after manuscript while Yusuke learned even more of the etiquette required to mingle with the upper echelons. While Yusuke was made to entertain guests, Akira was to eat dinner in his room as he continued his studies. Though their carefully planned days didn't allow them much time together anymore, they remained close and would talk late into the night until their father came and sent the one back to his own room.

There came a day when, in between lessons, Akira noticed a traveler approaching the gate. His hat sat low on his face, but Akira would recognize that scowl anywhere. "Sakura-San!" He greeted the merchant with a warm smile.

"Ah~ Akira-dono. It's been a while. And you've grown tall. Guess my provisions are worth something eh?" He hands Akira the two flour sacks in his hand. "You ready to become my apprentice yet?"

"You ready to fight with my father about it yet?" They each laugh as they begin the walk up the path.

"Where's that starving brother of yours?"

Akira frowns a bit. "Lessons." Be it from his realizing that this was a sensitive subject or the fact that Akira-San had already turned to the nearest servant, Sakura-San doesn't press any further. "Will you let Father know that Sakura-San is here?" The boy continues to make small talk with the merchant as they walk toward the courtyard. As the servants bring around the tea, the two can see Lord Madarame approaching from across the way, Yusuke in tow.

"He somehow managed to get paler," Sakura-san observes as he brings his cup to his lips. Akira had thought over the past two months that his brother's face had become whiter, pastier than ever before. With their new lifestyles keeping one indoors much more often than the other, this was to be expected to a degree. But Yusuke's shade looked unnatural, ghostly even. Akira had noticed this, but there was never a good time to ask about it. Madarame discusses business with Sakura-San as the younger men observe. It is not until Madarame has left the table that Sakura-San addresses Yusuke. "How have you been?" He eyes the boy cautiously.

"Well," The boy answers without making eye contact. "And yourself?"

"Can't complain," he continues to eye the thin boy. "You seem troubled, son. Is there anything you need?"

The boy looks a bit panicked. "I assure you everything is alright. If you will excuse me, I must be going to my next lesson." Both of the remaining men notice the way he holds onto his sleeves as he rises to go. "Be well on your travels," he bows to his elder before hurrying off.

"I suppose I should be going," Sakura-San grabs his things, and Akira continues their prior conversation as he and a servant walk him back to the road.

Later that very evening, Akira goes for his bath but is surprised to find his elder brother still there. He wasn't intending to sneak up on him, but Yusuke appeared to be in such deep thought that he didn't notice that Akira was behind him, even with all the noise. "Yusuke."

The boy startles and turns to face his brother before hiding himself to the chin in the water. "Akira? What are you doing here?"

"Bathing. What is that dark spot on your forearm?"

"I slipped getting into the bath."

"And the one on your neck?"

"My collar rubs against the skin occasionally."

"And the one on your back?"

"It... must have happened when we sparred."

"I never hit you on the back."

"Maybe you did."

"I have never." An uncanny silence falls and the other boy knows this to be true. He stands then, his head bowed in defeat. Akira moves closer to his elder brother, takes a handful of his hair, and dips his head in the water.

The other boy sputters and coughs as he stands and wipes the water from his eyes. "What is the meaning of this?!" When he sees the younger boy's shocked expression, he looks to the water, now clouded with the powdery makeup that had just been washed off, and gasps.

"And the ones on your face..." Akira's tone is far more sad than accusing.

"I am not allowed to speak on the matter. Father says if I wish to be a great man, it is necessary to endure." Akira takes in all of his brother's bruises and old scars that he'd been covering so well until recently.

"I will never forgive him." Yusuke looks at his brother to see an expression unlike any he's ever seen him make before.

"What can we do? He is our father and lord of this land. It is our duty as his sons and subjects to obey."

"I have an idea. But I won't involve you in anything you don't agree to be involved in. If it is your wish to remain in this place and someday succeed him, I respect that and will still call you brother. But as I will someday have to leave no matter what, I intend to go on my own terms. Wait for me near the front gate seven days from now, if you will join me."

Seven days pass, and Yusuke waits for his younger brother on the path to the front gate. They walk the path away from the central house as they talk, and it becomes clear that the plan itself is simple enough, but Yusuke is still unsure. He goes to their father just after lunch the next day.

"Father, there is something I wish to discuss with you." The man motions to the seat next to him without looking at the boy.

"Leave us." The servants leave. "What is it, Yusuke?" His tone is an exasperated one.

"What would you think if I were to become a scholar as well or perhaps a merchant?"

With a huff, the man sits his tea down. "Not this again! You are to stay here and receive your inheritance. That is what all the lessons and tutors and dinner meetings have been for. That is what a good son would do."

Yusuke looks troubled but continues. "Yes. But it is not unheard of for one to go out into the world and return when he is needed? I do not wish to abandon my post, merely to see more of what the world has to offer. It may even prove beneficial to my lordship to gain firsthand experience in how our people live."

Without warning, Madarame slaps his eldest son. "This place is not good enough for you?! What could you possibly gain from going out to live amongst peasants? It's that fool brother of yours putting ideas into your head again!"

"Father, it has nothing to do with him! I simply-"

"Akira! Someone bring that devil to me at once!"

"Yes, Father?"

"What nonsense have you been sprouting this time?! Making him think he can just leave! You are to study, nothing more! You concoct these frivolous fantasies because you are jealous of Yusuke's birthright!"

"His right to be unjustly beaten?" Barely a whisper, but Madarame hears the accusation and responds as an offended samurai would. Akira and Yusuke both count their blessings that the man didn't have his sword on hand. Even at his age, though, the hand is enough. Akira dares not fight back or even raise a hand in defense. Yusuke attempts to intervene but is merely treated as another target of Madarame's wrath.

"I want the both of you out of my sight for the rest of the day!" Once the man has made it down the hall, the servants rush in to tend to the young lords' wounds. Neither speaks a word to anyone until they meet in the bath again.

"Akira, I didn't mean for him to lash out at you. And I didn't speak a word about the plan, I swear it."

"I know. I believe you. Is there any hesitation remaining in your heart?"

"None at all," his voice is more sure than Akira has heard it in quite a while.

The following evening, the household was hosting a dinner meeting with other nobles from the capital. When Madarame called for his sons, they each joined the others at the table in their finest clothing and their best manners. The guests stared in shock. Both boys had been ordered to paint their faces in an attempt to hide the bruises and scars so unbecoming of noble sons. But they hadn't.

"My, whatever happened to their faces, dear?!" One woman asked her husband.

"A mere accident during today's lessons, Madam," Yusuke bows respectfully.

"We humbly apologize for our unsightly appearance," Akira bows as well.

"Take your seats," their father demanded in a tone that they understood to mean forthcoming punishment that he would never enact in front of the guests. The dinner continued without incident, and all of the guests seemed to enjoy themselves and think nothing more of the boys' faces. But they both knew the damage had been done. They were sent straight to their rooms after.

In the following days, news spread about Lord Madarame's sons. The ladies thought he pushed them too hard, the men assumed he was too quick to anger. All of this resulted in the general opinion that Madarame was unfit to lead warriors on the imperial level, and he received notice that he would only lead locally instead. There was much bloodshed between the two the afternoon the message came.

The moon had completed seven cycles since the last time they were allowed to speak or even see each other except in passing. The seconds of contact they had in the hallway were highly regulated. They were to keep their heads bowed and hands clasped behind them, no messages could be passed. Madarame had meant to crush their spirits but in fact did just the opposite. What he failed to realize is that the boys had already formed their plan, and almost every servant in the house pledged loyalty to the kinder young lords over the harsh, fickle older man.

They had been preparing for weeks. On this particular morning's pass, Yusuke gave a nearly imperceptible nod as they subtly made eye contact. Akira understood.

They went through the rest of the day like normal. Just before nightfall when they were sent to their rooms, each boy gathered the clothes and provisions they had bartered with the servants to purchase or make for them and readied themselves to leave, determined to not have it said that they stole anything from their father. They feigned sleep as Madarame's lone loyal retainer came round to ensure everything was as it should be.

When given the signal, the boys met at the gate, where they trimmed and buried small pieces of their forelocks, a symbolic gesture of this transition into manhood. With the help of their servants, they escaped into the night and only stopped when they'd reached a market town Akira had noted on one of his many trips out. They set up camp for a brief moment of rest.

Of the seventeen servants who escaped with them, all but two asked to be released from service in exchange for the goods they provided. The young lords handed over the documents Yusuke and a young servant named Shinya had tricked Madarame into signing, and after a jovial night and lighthearted farewell in the morning, the fifteen went in their various directions. The two remaining servants, Yuuki and Shinya, were also handed release documents but refused them, opting to stay with their former masters instead.

"I order you to take the documents or face dismemberment for your insubordination," Yusuke held out the scrolls. They took them. "Now that you are free men, you may decide where you wish to go." The two boys gather their supplies and continue their journey. The newly released servants follow.

Their travels over the next two weeks are by no means without hardship, but they were all grateful for the many interactions that ended without incident. They were now a few days' walk outside their father's territory, and it is on the path through the forest to the next village that they see a man standing in the way. The lively conversation gives way to complete silence the closer they get to the man, fear of being recognized increasingly palpable. Once they're close enough to get a better view of the man, Akira slowly begins to smile. The man's hat sat low on his face, but Akira would recognize that scowl anywhere.

**Author's Note:**

> I took a class on Chinese and Japanese ghost stories from the Early Modern Period, and it definitely inspired the style and subject matter of this one. That said, it was only a semester long which means I am in NO way any kind of expert on the period or culture. I just thought it would be a cool spin on things. Thanks for reading!


End file.
